PJM Exclusive: A Massacre in Syria (Content Warning)

As Syrians watch the tragedy unfolding in severe weather conditions in the United States, our hearts are filled with grief and sorrow over the needless deaths of Americans. But our hearts are also filled with grief for our fellow citizens being gunned down like animals by the Assad regime. If there is a video to be watched on what our people are enduring, this one may provide a glimpse of our suffering at the hands of a mass murderer:

We wish the compassionate people of this great nation a quick recovery.

Farid Ghadry is a member of the Committee on the Present Danger (www.fightingterror.org) and has written several articles and essays on Syria and the politics in the Levant.

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24 Comments, 17 Threads

1.
Sandra

Explain to me again Obama’s policy on this mass murder going on in Syria? Is Assad the reformer a pal? The president told us this week he can’t waste time on silly things just before he jetted to Chicago for his appearance on Oprah. Then he was off to to fundraiser in NYC. I guess it’s time for another strongly worded letter to Assad. Surely that will leave the unrepentant dictator shaking in his Gucci loafers.

When you blow all your allowance on candy where do you get the money for the bat you need to play ball? The munitions fired into Libya to prevent a massacre must be replaced that of course takes time. Also, the French and Brits can’t handle what is already on their military plates so they have no desire to tangle with Syria, besides there is no OIL there. Obama is too afraid to go it alone, that would be acting Bush! And then we have three kinetic military actions already.

I am more upset about the Americans killed in Afghanistan. I supported the wars when George W. Bush started them but have come to the belief that people in both Afghanistan and Iraq were far from being sufficiently thankful for the American lives and money spent on straightening out their countries. Further, I have come to believe that some people/countries get the governments they deserve. Many have been fighting each other for generations and some only appear to be civilized when a very firm, dictatorial hand is leading them. This is not a profound opinion and I know we may need that oil, but that’s how I currently feel. This does not mean that I support the political leanings of bo and his cohorts in any way. If this country wants to support some middle eastern countries and beliefs, I suggest they go themselves or encourage THEIR kids to enlist.

The 5th Army appears to be fighting Assad’s brother commanding the 4th Army with cover of tanks. If the military is actually fracturing, Assad’s grip will weaken. His father did however kill 30,000.

The 2nd Amendment aside, the issue here is a professional and well trained security forces with tanks and Iranian commanders bullying and killing the people. Duns alone haven’t helped the rebels of Libya. What Syrians lack are not guns but State Militias armed with far more muscle than rifles and loyal to a Constitution that serves human rights and individual liberty.

May the people of Syrian find the resources, national courage and international support to end Assad’s tyranny and the terrorist reach of Iran. Wouldn’t an Arab-Israeli imposed no fly zone be something?

Now Syrians know what it feels like living in Hizbollahland. Obama’s worst move was the quick ejection of Mubarak. A key element of resistance to Iran and Assad was brokem.

If Hizb’Allah gets desperate and launches a war against Israel, Assad will be a likely target and Turkey forced away from their new best friends. Who would have thought Israel might be a critical asset to KSA and people of Lebanon and Syria?

What an incredible assessment of events; did you see all that on TV or is it sheer intellectual firepower? I think you’re better off trolling for reaction in your usual kampf, where people can’t tell the difference between one English word and another rather than trying to break down Syria.

Three words: No Second Amendment. Although I think the guy in the White jacket was packing. In America, or at least the part where I live, the guy working the AK-47 would have been greeted with a hail of gunfire, since 75% of the crowd would have been armed. Not in any 4rd world mudhole. Although that might have something to dio with why they are a 3rd world mudhole.

I know that the Syrian people are under the thumb of a brutal and thuggish dictator. How are we, the United States, going to decide which brutal thuggish dictator we’re going to “take out”? Syria but not Iran? Iraq but not the enslaved, terrorized and starving civilians of North Korea? Egypt but not Venezuela? Where do we draw the line? Who do we help and who do we pass by? We do not have enough resources to help everyone, that much is obvious. If the Taliban government of Afghanistan had not nurtured, supported and given aid and comfort to those who flew jetliners into the WTC we would not have attacked Afghanistan even though the Taliban was also as brutal a dictatorship as has ever existed. Now we’re being drawn slowly but surely into conflict in Libya. We’re going to have to bring back the draft in order to have enough military to fight all these wars.

But Syria was complicit in the “insurgent’s” war against American troops in Iraq. So why did the US do nothing?
Why only target Gaddafi? Because Libya was Power’s trial run of “R2P” to be used against Israel to protect Hamas in Gaza?
Lots of questions and only conjecture at the moment and apart from seemingly wanting to wreck the US economy Obama and his czars also want to see Iranian hegemony succeed.

While the targeting of unarmed civilians is abominable, what is it we see in this clip? We see a crowd, then hear gunfire in the distance to the right. From a strictly tactical perspective, trained troops firing machine guns should have been able to hit more than one poor individual. I saw others on the ground, however the crowd appears to only carry one poor soul after the firing tapers off. I’m not comfortable with making statements of ‘Mass Murder’ with such a confused video. Perspective is totally lost. I absolutely think Asad should be removed. His assasination would be fine with me. However, releasing such disoriented video as proof of mass murder is weak to me. In my military mind it appears that two armed forces are meeting to the RIGHT of where this clip was shot. Someone was trading shots. If the crowd were the target and not just BEHIND whomever was being shot at, there should have been more hits. And sorry to say, US troops have caused civilian casualities from that same scenario. Asad=Brutal, certainly. Is he capable of commiting mass murder, his father sure did it. But c’mon folks, Liberals use emotion to make important decisions. Conservatives are supposed to use reason.

So use reason and surmise how the video was shot. With a cell phone and not the latest and greatest MSM equipment.
The guys firing were on the run and not stationary at a turkey shoot.
No doubt you did not witness Palestinians attacking Israeli civilians in Afula using AK-47s – Arriving in a car they jumped out and lying prone in the street, between the Central bus station and the souk/market place, started firing at the many shoppers and travellers. They killed several but not that many for the number of clips they used. Not that easy; not Hollywood.
I suppose those who declare that the rocket fire from Gaza, because of the relatively few deaths, does not merit Israel’s response would under these circumstances declare automatic weapon fire as not so murderous.

May, what drivel. At least I’m not banned here. Where did I get all that? LOL. I suggest you start with Google.

And then the Hitler reference is just your speed May. Don’t you think others can see your Nazis attack as unhinged? Journalism is something you might want to add to your inflated photographic skills.

Yep, the 2 Amendment is what Syria needs James. And Kudos for your cheer leading the great results in Egypt where there has not been a word said regarding Logan (did you get any pics of that?), minority victimization and a three year sentence for one of the principle Liberal bloggers.

“the issue here is professional and well trained security forces with tanks and Iranian commanders bullying and killing the people. Guns alone haven’t helped the rebels of Libya. What Syrians lack are not guns but State Militias armed with far more muscle than rifles and loyal to a Constitution that serves human rights and individual liberty.”

Gee, I sounded like Hitler in that comment Mr. May. Syrians need soldiers resisting their orders. They need more than guns and the help from the International community will be gauged on the extent those resisting Assad’s Nazi rule are not from the equally bad camp.

Can one imagine Assad with a bomb? How about Saddam in power now with a bomb of his own? As we can see, it took more than rifles in thwarting both of them. I do not see the Syrian Army murdering thousands of Sunnis when these communities are where Syrian soldiers come from. Nor do I see much cohesion in the ranks lead by Assad’s brother or Iranian Republican Guard commanders. I don’t doubt however that officers disobeying their President “might” be shot.

I have some serious questions about this video. Watch it again. Hundreds of shots fired, 1 person down. They move the person towards the camera but there is no blood where they pick him up from. They move him closer to the camera in a group. Then they move the person and again no blood on the ground. I just wonder about the use of propaganda….you know like in Gaza by Pallywood films. Hundreds of﻿ shots and 1 person hit? No﻿ blood but lots of believers. I just dont know. Sorry but I question everything when the evidence seems so odd.

I think these videos are valuable, and am grateful for the opportunity to view them. That said, I think you’re right that we should view them critically, and be careful how we describe them.

The dead guy can be seen at 1:01, when the crowd has mostly dispersed. He rolls over at this point, but doesn’t seem to move after 1:02.

Nobody else is killed, or even seems injured.

As for blood, I also don’t see any, but I’m not sure how convincing this is. The distance from the camera is too great, and the view is often obscured by other people. If you got a clear view of the location where he was lying please indicate the time in the video.

So, what to make of this?

Crowds being machine-gunned? I think not. The square is packed with people when the shooting begins. That sort of target would have left at least 3-4 dead and a dozen wounded.

A man killed by a sniper, while someone else fires an automatic weapon in the background at exactly the same time? Possible, but not much evidence.

A gunner shooting over a crowd to disperse it, with one bullet (perhaps a ricochet?) finding an unlucky target? Possible. It’s also possible that the man was knocked down and hit his head when the crowd panicked. He might be an older fellow who had a sudden heart attack, for all we know. Or he could have gotten up and walked away half an hour later.

There is plenty of evidence that horrific murders are being done on a large scale in Syria, and plenty of videos proving it. But this one isn’t one of them. This is not to denigrate the courage of the protestors, or the resourcefulness of the cameraman, or to criticize Farid Ghadry for bringing it to our attention – but we must not make more of the video than it actually contains. And I think “spraying bullets at a crowd” (as the subtitle of the article now states) is an exaggeration.